Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra Names New Chief Conductor

The French conductor Maxime Pascal will step into the role for an initial term of three years

French conductor Maxime Pascal's new contract with Sweden's Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra commences in August 2024.

Pascal is well acquainted with the ensemble, having appeared there on five separate occasions across the last two seasons. He assumes a position that has been vacant for some time: the orchestra was without a Chief Conductor all the way through the pandemic.

Born in Carcassonne, Pascal studied conducting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris with François-Xavier Roth. He is the Artistic Director of Le Balcon in Paris, an ensemble he co-founded in 2008 with the goal of offering audiences musical experiences with audio-visual elements. The group has a particular focus on contemporary music and has recently completed the full cycle of Stockhausen's seven Licht operas.

"I am delighted and honored to have been chosen to be the HSO's next musical director," Pascal said. "The first time I came to Helsingborg, I found what I needed as a performer: curiosity, a desire for precision, an energy of sound. For me, it was of course an encounter with a country, a city, an orchestra and an audience, but it was also an opportunity to create moments of shared listening. A magnificent gathering around sound."

"The musicians' strong commitment to the text made me grow immensely as a musician," he added. "They want to make the content of a score heard as perfectly as possible. Each of our concerts have been outstanding moments in my musical development and are very moving memories."

"Maxime Pascal possesses the ability to master both the spectacularly exclusive and the informally playful, qualities that we need here in Helsingborg," said Katrine Ganer Skaug, the Artistic Director of the Helsingborg Symphony.

"We are very pleased and proud of this opportunity. After a long and thorough process, we have found an artist with high integrity who truly takes the orchestra's ambitions seriously. He has demonstrated a rare combination of precision and generosity towards the musicians, creating a fantastic working environment."